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Biden Aims To Calm Concerns About His Re-Election Chances; U.N.: Russian "Direct Hit" Damaged Kyiv Children's Hospital; Modi & Putin Affirm India-Russia Ties During Moscow Visit. Biden Insists He's Staying in the Presidential Race; Trump Holes Rally in Florida Ahead of GOP Convention; Spain Beat France 2-1 to Reach Final; Russian Court Orders Arrest of Yulia Navalnaya in Absentia; Fighters Brawl in 663rd Annual Oil Wrestling Tournament. Aired 1-2a ET
Aired July 10, 2024 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[01:00:29]
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Ahead on CNN Newsroom.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, NATO is stronger than it's ever been in its history.
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KINKADE: All eyes on U.S. President Joe Biden as he kicks off the NATO Summit in Washington, with questions swelling about his reelection campaign.
High on NATO's agenda, the war in Ukraine. Russia was accused of targeting a children's hospital in the Capitol. And --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And on two.
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KINKADE: CNN gets exclusive access inside a U.S. gunship as it demonstrates its firepower during military exercises in South Korea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Newsroom with Lynda Kinkade.
KINKADE: We begin in Washington when leaders of NATO have gathered for their annual summit and to celebrate the group's 75th anniversary. U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed members with a forceful speech praising the Alliance's support for Ukraine and resistance to autocrats like Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Biden said NATO was stronger than ever, and he announced plans to provide new air defenses to Ukraine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: All told, Ukraine will receive hundreds of additional interceptors over the next year, helping protect Ukrainian cities against Russian missiles. Ukrainian troops facing air attacks on the front lines. Make no mistake, Russia is failing in this war.
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KINKADE: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with NATO leaders in Washington over the next few days. On Tuesday, he spoke on the sidelines of the summit saying the world must be uncompromising in its support for Ukraine and resistance to Putin.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: When did it step into the shadows, when did want one start thinking that it's better to delay than act that partial solutions are better than victory. And when it started to appear that to defend freedom is allegedly unsafe. America cannot be a leader and the world dream maker without caring for world affairs. America should not shy away from its strengths. It is America that keeps the freedom for the world.
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KINKADE: Mr. Biden's speech at the NATO summit was not only a message to world leaders, but also members of his own party that he's capable of four more years as president. CNN's Kayla Tausche reports.
KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: After more than a week of post-debate damage control and more than 36 hours sprinting to shore up support among his party, President Biden stepping publicly out onto the world stage to hail a NATO alliance that he says is stronger than ever.
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BIDEN: Let's remember, the fact that NATO remains the bulwark of global security did not happen by accident. It wasn't inevitable. Again and again, at critical moments, we chose unity over disunion, progress over retreat, freedom over eternity, hope over fear. Again and again, we stood behind our shared vision of a peaceful and prosperous transatlantic community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAUSCHE: That message delivered as much to autocrats around the world as to Biden's political opponents here at home. Former President Donald Trump simply shrugged on the debate stage last month when President Biden asked him whether he would withdraw from the alliance that has banded together and expanded to 32 members to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia. But now it's President Biden that finds himself on the defense after a debate performance that left his party reeling and soul searching with many prominent party members, discussing whether the top of the ticket needs to be changed.
And while Biden did receive some high profile support from some critical blocks of lawmakers, there are still some members of his party who wants to see more they need more evidence. White House officials for their part are placated by Biden's performance in his NATO speech, saying that he hit his marks and that it was delivered as planned, with some high moments including when he delivered the Medal of Freedom to outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Even so members of President Biden's party are focused on one more event this week and that is a press conference for President Biden unscripted, will have to take questions from the domestic as well as the global press.
[01:05:03]
Kayla Tausche, CNN, the White House.
KINKADE: The NATO Summit began just a day after a deadly strike in a children's hospital in Kyiv, which the United Nations says was very likely done by Russia. The U.N.'s assessment downplays the idea that an intercepted weapon may have caused the blast. And Volodymyr Zelenskyy agrees, saying Russia always knows where its missiles hit. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen shows us the aftermath.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the exact impact side where that missile hit. And you can see that it's completely flattened part of that building, which is, of course, the largest children's hospital here in Ukraine and one of the largest in Europe sustaining major damage. Behind me, it's evidence to see that the floors here just completely got obliterated. And all that's left over is rubble right now.
Now the Ukrainians say that the death toll currently stands at two, while dozens of people have been wounded in this attack. They say one of the fortunate things that happened is there was a missile alert, and the staff of the children that were being treated here actually got evacuated to a bomb shelter, the staff then immediately came out and started sifting through the rubble. Now all of this is currently a cleanup operation.
But you can see just how powerful that blast must have been. This is one of the floors of that building. And here it's evident that it just flat pack down. Those are some of the supporting beams. And the Ukrainian say that there will be a response to this. The Russians claimed this might have been a stray Ukrainian interceptor that hit the building. The Ukrainians having none of it, saying it was a Russian missile saying this is an attack on Ukraine's healthcare system, and also on Ukraine's children.
And if we look over here, you can see this whole complex was damaged by it. That's another building here as well. And clearly the facade sustained major damage.
KINKADE: Andriy Zagorodnyuk joins me from Kyiv. He is a former Ukrainian Defense Minister and current adviser to the Ukrainian government. Appreciate your time tonight.
ANDRIY ZAGORODNYUK, FMR. UKRAINIAN DEFENSE MINISTER: Thank you.
KINKADE: So Monday marked one of Russia's deadliest aerial attacks on Ukraine since the start of the invasion. It happened in broad daylight. Ukrainian intercepted most of the incoming missiles. Did Ukraine anticipate a major attack like this on the eve of the NATO Summit?
ZAGORODNYUK: We certainly anticipated that Russia will continue attacks. We didn't obviously know the schedule. But we understood that this will continue. And of course, that something is going to happen related to the either to the summit or just to the Russian players, because we had some situations before when they were very serious attacks with tens of missiles at the same time, without any events or connections. So it's just simply happens.
Usually, Russia right now is concentrating the rockets and then sending them all in a large quantity in order to exhaust our air defense. So that tactic sometimes work, like for example, in this case out of 38 rockets 30 were intercepted, but it got through and as you could see, there's been an enormous damage and hospital of course, there's been a huge and everybody is talking about that, but we need to know that there's been there's been other buildings destroyed, there's been a residential building destroyed and so on. So altogether 31 person died and over 150, 170 seriously wounded just in one bomb.
KINKADE: And of course, Russia did deny hitting that hospital. Ukraine's State Security Service says it has evidence of a Russian cruise missile. It is Ukraine's largest children's hospital. And we are seeing some pretty gruesome images of young children like this one, I want to show our viewers injured in this palace attack. What is the feeling in Ukraine this week? And what is the hope of what they might get from the NATO alliance in terms of the pledge so far, and what more there may be to come?
ZAGORODNYUK: Well, first of all, of course, to be honest Ukrainians already even not a bold about Russia and statements that it wasn't them. I mean, we already get used to that. That's the standard response. They have destroyed like a huge part of the country, they destroyed cities and towns. And every time there's a somebody else, so basically, in this case, our -- there are like fragments of the rocket very specific one, this is X101.
And essentially, this rocket is well known has been hit Ukraine many times and the, you know the -- there is no single credible comment from any expert from any embassy, from any international Committee that it might not be that rocket. So basically, there is a common understanding here in Kyiv from U.N. and among international partners and observers that what happened has been.
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So but of course Russia is spreading the disinformation all around the world and this is a standard Russia that what exactly that's what they do pretty much all the time. KINKADE: Yes.
ZAGORODNYUK: Regarding the generally what the hopes are, the expectations are that there would be a step up in the air defense because of course air defense is going through enormous strain and enormous, you know, test. And there's been a lot of the very unique situations when we've been intercepting the very serious Russian rockets, for example, like a hypersonic Kinzhal, which was originally considered not to be intercepted a little.
But the volumes, yes, that's what the Russians playing with. They're trying to send a lot of volume at the same -- in the same hour, literally, and just through there to get through. So we need to deal with that.
KINKADE: Here in the U.S., there's a lot of focus on the upcoming election. If Trump is reelected, which according to the polls here, it looks likely. Is there a fear in Ukraine that the U.S. will abandon Ukraine?
ZAGORODNYUK: Yes, there's a discussion about that pretty much every day, because there's been messages coming to from Washington, from obviously, some politicians that there would be pressure to -- for Ukraine to enter into negotiations with Putin. Putin obviously stated that, you know, in Ukraine is considered like a no brainer, because we didn't clearly stated that he doesn't want Ukraine to exist.
He's confirming these statements, at least every month for him or his government. And they are still despite of all setbacks in Ukrainian battlefield, they still are trying to do that. They still deny Ukraine existence. A country with, you know, huge history and tens of millions of population and so on. They just should I say that we shouldn't exist and so on. So for us is an existential war.
And, of course, when somebody's saying that they would withdraw the help, in order to pressure us to negotiations and obviously some consent that seriously it's going to weaken our defense position to say at least, any of that is concerned. That's a huge concern.
KINKADE: Andriy Zagorodnyuk, the current adviser to the Ukrainian government, we appreciate your time today. Thank you.
ZAGORODNYUK: Thank you.
KINKADE: Optimism about an Israel-Hamas ceasefire hostage release still is waning as Israeli military action in Gaza ramps up. The Palestinian Health Ministry says at least 25 people were killed and more than 50 others wounded in an Israeli airstrike go to school in Khan Yunis. The IDF says it was targeting a terrorist accused of taking part in the October 7th attack. The Gaza officials say the school house displaced people. Israel's military says it's looking into reports that civilians were harmed. One witness says many of the victims were children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Suddenly, without prior warning, rockets were fired towards a number of people who were connecting to the internet. They are not fighters. They did not have weapons, or they were not involved in any resistance operations. They were civilians and mostly children. I was there at the site and most of the people were killed or critically wounded. None of us had any weapons or anything related to the resistance.
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KINKADE: Well, the U.S. CIA director is in Doha, Qatar to continue talks about potential Gaza ceasefire and a hostage deal. Bill Burns will meet with Qatar's Prime Minister, the head of Israel's spy agency and the head of Egyptian intelligence. Burns discuss the negotiations with Egypt's president in Cairo on his way to Qatar. The spokesman for the U.S. State Department offered this update on those talks.
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MATTHEW MILLER, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: I do think it's important to note that civilian casualties have come down dramatically over the past few months from the really catastrophic levels that they were at earlier this year, and of course late last year. But we want to see civilian casualties completely go away. And that is why we are pushing so hard. Have people in the region right now working to try to achieve a ceasefire that would secure the release of hostages that would alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people that would allow us to search humanitarian assistance in and ultimately we believe would set the conditions for the end of the war. That's what we've been focused on. And what we're spending all of our time trying to get over the finish line.
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KINKADE: With tensions ramping up along Israel's northern border, Hezbollah says they fired dozens of rockets on the Golan Heights, Tuesday. Israeli police say a woman and a man are, quote, killed on the spot. The head of the Golan Regional Council is calling on Israel to respond to the attack with force. The Golan Heights is under Israeli government control and is considered to be occupied territory by the international community.
In a statement, Hezbollah says the strike was in response to an alleged Israeli attack, targeting a key Hezbollah member in Damascus Syria. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli military says it destroyed dozens of explosive devices during a 15 hour operation. Video shows damage throughout the Nuseirat's refugee camp after the Israeli forces bulldoze buildings and dug up roads.
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The U.N. Refugee Agency says more than 13,000 refugees registered there, face overcrowding, unemployment, and poor sanitation. The IDF says it's arrested 15 suspects across the West Bank on Tuesday. Well, India's Prime Minister has left Moscow with after meeting with Vladimir Putin. We'll have more on Narendra Modi's working relationship with a Russian president when we come back.
Plus, a massive U.S. Air Force plane takes part in live fire exercises above the Korean peninsula. How the U.S. hopes to bring stability to the region ahead.
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KINKADE: From Moscow to Viana, right now India's Prime Minister's in Austria as he continues visiting international allies. Narendra Modi will be officially welcomed by Chancellor Karl Nehammer in the coming hours. It's his latest stop after wrapping up a two day visit to Moscow, where he had official and informal meetings with the Russian president. CNN's Ivan Watson has the details.
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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Warm hugs between the leaders of India and Russia. Their display of friendship, a sharp contrast to the ongoing cleanup of what's left of a children's hospital in Kyiv. Ukraine accuses Russia of a deadly cruise missile strike here. A charge the Kremlin denies. It's a huge disappointment and a devastating blow, Ukraine's president announces, to see the leader of the world's largest democracy hug the world's most bloody criminal in Moscow.
Moscow has been a close partner with India for generations, supplying the Indian military with weapons since the days of the Soviet Union. More recently, Russia has become an Indian gas station of sorts. India has been scooping up billions of dollars and Russian crude oil, which most Western countries stopped buying after Putin's full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, booming bilateral trade that's helping fund Russia's war machine.
In Moscow, the two leaders announced plans to expand Russian energy deliveries. But on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his most critical public statement to date about the war in Ukraine, appearing to lecture Putin on the heartbreak of seeing innocent children killed.
NARENDRA MODI, INDIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): As a friend, I have always said that peace is necessary for the prosperity of future generations. But I also know that on the battlefield, solutions aren't easy to come by between guns, bombs and bullets. We have to adopt a path to peace through dialogue.
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WATSON (voice-over): The visit comes as Modi is increasingly concerned about Putin's blossoming alliance with India's giant rival Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Competition with China also driving U.S. overtures towards India in recent years. Last year, President Biden and the first lady rolled out the red carpet for Modi, wining and dining, the Prime Minister during his state visit.
BIDEN: Cheers.
WATSON (voice-over): The Biden administration strengthening defense and trade ties with the world's most populous country, and avoiding harshly criticizing Modi's mission to Moscow.
MILLER: India is a strategic partner with whom we engage in a full and frank dialogue and that includes on our concerns about the relationship with Russia.
WATSON (voice-over): But Modi's visit gives Putin a chance to demonstrate at home and abroad that Western efforts to isolate Russia are failing.
Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.
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KINKADE: Well, North Korea has sent a delegation of elite military training officials to Russia this week, the group was led by the President of the Kim Il Sung Military University that were from North Korean state media which gave no other details about the visit, either its purpose or where the delegation was going. But the trip comes just weeks after Russia's president visited Pyongyang and signed a defense pact with North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un. And it's a clear signal that the two countries are continuing to grow closer.
And that closeness has both the U.S. and South Korea worried. The two countries wrapped up their latest round of joint military drills earlier this month. This time they were joined by a new American gunship known as the Ghostrider carrying one of the biggest guns in the sky. CNN's Mike Valerio got an up close look.
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MIKE VALERIO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's one of the latest unmistakable displays of U.S. firepower high above the Korean Peninsula, America's biggest gun in the sky down on board a U.S. Air Force AC-130J, the Ghostrider.
It's a 105 millimeter Howitzer cannon loaded in a matter of seconds with brass 43 pounds shells, power has percussion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And on two.
VALERIO (voice-over): Part of a strategic symphony between the U.S. and South Korean militaries. U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command granted CNN unprecedented access inside the Ghostrider and what we witnessed Americans in the air talking to Korean service members on the ground, some of them working together for the first time spotting practice targets below an opening fire.
VALERIO: Where a few minutes into the blank. Can you talk to us about what is going to happen and what we're looking at here?
JOE GIPSON, U.S. AIR FORCE AC-130 LEAD AERIAL GUNNER: Absolutely. So why medcare, what we have is wouldn't be able to achieve a 105 millimeter Howitzer. So we're rolling into our live fire range over South Korea right now.
VALERIO (voice-over): Today is a training mission. So there are smaller low yield explosions, but the sound heard thousands of feet away is echoing thunder.
VALERIO: Why is it important to have an AC-130?
VALERIO (voice-over): On the ground we spoke with Major Josh Burris once an accountant now mission commander.
VALERIO: And why is it key to have an aircraft like the AC-130 able to deploy here to Korea as quickly as possible?
MAJOR JOSH BURRIS, U.S. AIR FORCE AC-130J MISSION COMMANDER: The unique thing about the AC-130 is the amount of fires that we bring, the amount of munitions the diverse amount of them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's in the box.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And on two.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right next setting, zero, subzero got two.
VALERIO (voice-over): The Air Force says it's continued message here is deterrence. And with this aircraft, power.
VALERIO: So when the cannon starts to open fire, the tail where I'm standing recoils a full six feet this way. You know your heart really skips a beat, when this all starts to happen. And the entire plane, feels it.
VALERIO (voice-over): The Ghostrider just one piece of the U.S.-Korean strategic symphony as the tempo of these exercises continues, and North Korea watches across the horizon.
Mike Valerio, CNN, Osan Air Base, South Korea.
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KINKADE: Democrats in the U.S. Congress meet to discuss President Biden's political future. What they're saying about his chances for reelection after a short break.
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KINKADE: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Lynda Kinkade. The 75th annual NATO Summit is underway in Washington. U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed members with a forceful speech praising the alliance as stronger than ever. He also warned the U.S. could never leave NATO if Donald Trump becomes the next president. Mr. Biden announced plans to supply new air defenses including patriot missile batteries to Kyiv.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: It's good that we're stronger than ever, because this moment in history calls for our collective strength.
Ukraine can and will stop Putin, especially with our full collective support.
They know we're stronger with our friends, and we understand this is a sacred obligation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Mr. Biden surprised NATO's outgoing Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Stoltenberg has led the Alliance since 2014. A trio of Democratic senators are expressing their doubts about U.S. President Joe Biden's political future. Michael Bennet of Colorado tells CNN that he doesn't think Mr. Biden can win reelection. So says Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Jon Tester of Montana told colleagues the same. On the House side, New Jersey Democrat Mikie Sherrill is joining others in her party calling on Mr. Biden to step aside. CNN's Manu Raju has more.
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Joe Biden is putting Democrats in a jam.
REP. RITCHIE TORRES (D-NY): If the president declines to leave voluntarily, then he's going to be our nominee. And we have to make the best of a complicated situation. I think I'm viewing it pragmatically.
RAJU (voice-over): Some resigned to support the President even though they fear he may lose to Donald Trump.
REP. SEAN CASTEN (D-IL): The stakes of this are about what is the future for our country in two different scenarios. And I think there's a lot of concern about will we be able to have that conversation in this media environment, but my God, that's the conversation we have to have.
RAJU: Do you support keeping him on the top of that ticket, Biden?
CASTEN: That's all I have to say.
RAJU (voice-over): In there first in person meeting today, since Biden's debate debacle, House and Senate Democrats aired out their grievances and left with no consensus.
REP. MARC VEASEY (D-TX): My concerns are the concerns that everybody has. What I set this morning and express to my colleagues, particularly for members on the front line is that I think they need to do whatever it is they need to do in order to come back and be reelected. Well, and so if they need to, you know, distance themselves and then that's what they need to do.
RAJU (voice-over): Yet, some like Congressman Jerry Nadler now say they are on board with Biden, despite privately calling for a change on Sunday.
REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): He made very clear he's going to run. He's got an excellent record and most existential presidents of the last century. Trump would be an absolute disaster for democracy. So I'm enthusiastically supporting Biden.
RAJU: What did you say on that call on Sunday?
NADLER: I'm not going to comment on what I said on a private call.
RAJU (voice-over): Several Democrats pointedly refused to say that they supported keeping Biden atop the ticket.
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RAJU: Mr. Goldman, do you support keeping Biden as your nominee?
REP. DANIEL GOLDMAN (D-NY): No comment.
RAJU: Do you support keeping Biden at the top of the ticket?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No comment.
RAJU: Do you think that Biden just stays your nominee?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love that tie.
RAJU: Biden has won strong support from senior members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
REP. MAXINE WATERS, (D-CA): All I can tell you is I am a big supporter of Biden.
RAJU: About the people who believe that he's going to lose.
WATERS: I'm going to work as hard as I can for him. Biden is going to win. The Team Biden-Harris is going to win, win, win.
RAJU: In the Senate, Democrats like Patty Murray raising deep concerns about Biden's viability, while some standing firmly by him, including Bob Casey facing a tight race in battleground Pennsylvania.
Do you support keeping Biden at the top of the ticket?
SEN. BOB CASEY (D-PA): I have said so numerous times. You heard my remarks over a week ago in Scranton.
RAJU: There's other concerns that he could sink vulnerable Democrats like yourself. What do you say to that?
CASEY: I'll leave that to the pundits.
RAJU: Following an intense afternoon meeting with Senate Democrats, Chuck Schumer Senate Majority Leader, would only save this about Biden.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: I'm with Joe.
I'm with Joe. I'm with Joe.
As I've said before, I'm with Joe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Joining me now is Molly Ball, senior political correspondent with "The Wall Street Journal". Good to have you here this morning.
MOLLY BALL, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, "WALL STREET JOURNAL": Thanks for having me.
So U.S. President Biden gave a closely-watched and a highly- anticipated speech NATO allies amid this speculation about his health and also calls to give up his bid for reelection.
How did he do? And is it enough to quell some concerns?
BALL: Well, the answer to the first question is he did quite well. He gave a forceful and vigorous and substantive speech. Of course, the president is very proud of his record on foreign policy and specifically with NATO, his work to strengthen and expand the alliance and to shore it up in the face of Putin's aggression in Ukraine.
So it was a good venue for him. He gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. And again, he didn't stumble during the speech. He was quite forceful as he delivered it.
Is it enough though? I think that is quite a different question because what we know about the president's sort of state of lucidity is that he has good days and bad days and he has some very bad days, including that debate nearly two weeks ago.
And many Democrats who are back on Capitol Hill this week and who have had many now anguished meetings about what to do about the presidential ticket. Many Democrats feel that their questions haven't been fully answered, that there hasn't been fully transparency, and that they haven't seen the president do anything to restore their confidence that he can turn around a campaign that right now seems to be quite clearly down in the polls and losing to former President Trump.
KINKADE: You recently wrote an article in "The Wall Street Journal" that was headlined Biden's ABC interview showed a president in denial. Talk us through that denial. And how many people in his camp do you think are also living in denial?
BALL: Well, at the very least, they're clearly in a sort of bubble where they've surrounded themselves with people and surrounded the president with people who are telling him that he isn't down in the polls and that he isn't facing a revolt from the rank and file of his party when both of those things are plainly true.
We have now had many, many, many public polls come out since the debate. The president's campaign has private polling as well as do other Democratic efforts. Virtually all of them show that he is losing by a widening margin since that debate performance that was so widely panned.
And then he's down in the battleground states, that voters by increasing margins doubt his competence, doubt his ability to serve as president, much less to serve for another four years.
And yet his response to all of the angst and panic in the Democratic ranks since the debate was not to mount a sort of full-court press where he, you know, flew around the country and he did a bunch of interviews and showed what he was really capable of.
Instead, he appeared very sparingly in public and made very few calls to fellow Democrats over the course of the past couple of weeks.
And then in this one public interview with ABC News, which was quite brief interview and quite limited, he still appeared very frail. He still mixed up a lot of things.
KINKADE: And of course, the election is just four months away. We have heard some names tossed about as potential Biden replacements. A number of governors -- governors from Michigan, California, Pennsylvania, and also Vice President Kamala Harris.
But there isn't really a stand out. How much of a risk is that this close to the election, not having one person that would stand out as a candidate replacement for Joe Biden.
[01:34:54]
BALL: Well, it's easy to play these parlor games, but for now the fact is that it is Joe Biden's decision and he's clearly made a decision that he is going to fight to stay in the race and it will be almost impossible for anything to change that if he is not willing. So that's the first thing.
I think secondly, most people have settled on the idea that the Vice President Kamala Harris, would almost certainly be the successor if he were to step off of the ticket simply because she's already there legally. She's able to inherit all the resources of the campaign.
And finally, it would just be a tremendously insulting for a president who had placed his trust in her four years ago by selecting her as vice president. And boasted and continues to boast about having made this historic choice of the first ever black woman to serve on a presidential ticket for him to pass over her or for the party to pass over her, I think would be very insulting not only to her, but to the constituency that she represents.
KINKADE: And we heard from Donald Trump speaking at his first rally since that debate. Let's take a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They want crooked Joe out of the race. It's a shame the way they're treating him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: We also have seen the latest Cook Political Report showing that five states are moving in favor of Trump. Do you think Trump's team prefer a race against Biden.
BALL: At this point, I think they do. Not only because Biden is so severely weakened and because they're winning right now. But because, and I think we see this on the Democratic side as well, in politics you always prefer the predictable to the unpredictable.
And the Trump campaign has been campaigning against President Biden for months, if not years now. They know very well they have research, they have polling, they have a theory of the case that all revolves around Joe Biden being the nominee.
Now they have also been campaigning against Kamala Harris as a sort of president in waiting long before this debate ever made the question more salient. And they do think that she has her own weaknesses.
But it is certainly the case that, you know, at this point it looks like in a race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, Joe Biden loses that contest at least at this moment.
KINKADE: You make a really good point. Molly Ball from "The Wall Street Journal", good to have you with us. Thank you.
BALL: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, former U.S. President Donald Trump is ramping up campaigning with less than a week to go before the Republican National Convention. Trump held a rally in Florida along with Senator Marco Rubio, his potential VP pick. And he continues to build the suspense as to who will be his running mate.
CNN's Kristen Holmes has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Former President Donald Trump did not announce during his Doral rally who is going to be his vice-presidential pick, but did do something else.
He notably went after Vice President Kamala Harris for the first time as questions continued to (INAUDIBLE) whether or not President Joe Biden will stay on the ticket. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: But whatever else can be said about Crooked Joe Biden, you have to give him credit for one brilliant decision, probably the smartest decision he's ever made. He picked Kamala Harris as his vice president.
No. It was brilliant because it was an insurance policy may be the best insurance policy I've ever seen, Marco.
If Joe had picked someone even halfway competent, they would have bounced him from office years ago, but they can't.
HOLMES: Now this is particularly significant given the fact that Donald Trump and his team have been watching carefully what is happening with the Democratic Party and what is happening with the Democratic ticket amid calls for Biden to step down.
Now on vice president while Donald Trump did not make his announcement, Senator Marco Rubio, one of the top contenders was here in the crowd. His family was here and he actually spoke before the former President. Trump seemed to tease Rubio at one point saying that he believed that all the media would hear this event because they thought he was going to announce that Marco Rubio was his vice- presidential pick.
As we have been reporting, he has to make that announcement before next Monday, but one source telling me that announcement could come as late as Monday night.
So another day goes by, we're still waiting to hear who the person is and when that announcement is coming.
Kristen Holmes, CNN -- Miami, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, flash flood watches have been issued for parts of New Mexico for Wednesday after storms dumped heavy rains over the mountain village of Ruidoso.
The region has faced severe weather for weeks now and the National Weather Service says some areas have received up to two inches or more than 50 millimeters of rain per hour.
[01:39:45]
KINKADE: The same region has been battling wildfires. New Mexico officials have determined that one of two large fires in the area was caused by a lightning strike. The cause of the others still under investigation.
Well, Spain has a new football star. Ahead the 16-year-old who made history by becoming the youngest player to score in a men's European championship. Details after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Demonstrators in Barcelona showed up to offer a chilly welcome to tourists. Those are chants of "tourists go home". Thousands of people took to the streets to protest this weekend in a popular tourist area.
Some were squirting water guns at people. Other popular places in Spain, such as Mallorca and the Canary Islands have received similar demonstrations against mass tourism as locals complain of the impact on living costs and their quality of life.
Official figures show in the Barcelona area alone that almost 26 million visitors made an overnight stay last year.
Spain is moving on to the finals of the Euro 2024 after beating France two to one. The team had help from 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, who became the youngest player to ever score in a men's European championship.
CNN's Sebastian Shukla has more from Munich.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: Spain has become the first team to qualify for the final of Euro 2024. The game that took place here in Munich, behind me was pulsating from the first minute, up against France, who threw everything that they possibly could at them.
But ultimately Spain's quality rose to the top. It began straight out of the gates for France, they hit -- they hit the Spaniard really hard with Kylian Mbappe, maskless for the first time since that first game, coming in to be able to chip one to the back post for France to take the lead.
But it was the next passage of play that was more astonishing, made even more astonishing by the fact that it was their 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, who probably scored the goal of the tournament into that top left-hand corner to set Spain on their way.
And then after that, the way that Spain managed to galvanize themselves once they got back onto level pegging to then take the lead. And from that moment onwards, France looked relatively toothless. Didier Deschamps said that if you didn't like the way that France are going to play their football. You didn't have to watch.
That wasn't necessarily the case this evening, but some of the fans have made it very clear that now may need to be time for change.
The way this game played tonight, do you think that it gives you confidence that you will be the winners of this on Sunday?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first -- the first half was a little bit too clunky, (INAUDIBLE). But the second half was pretty much ok. However, if England passes it's going to be a tense match and it's going to be a hard match.
[01:44:52]
SHUKLA: And what about Mbappe? Did you think he played well tonight?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mbappe is not the Mbappe we have normally. I don't know why, but it's like that.
SHUKLA: That goal from Yamal thought, that was quite something.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was amazing from outer space. I mean, he was scoring way too far away. That was amazing. He was trying for a goal for three matches in a row. He did it. I'm so -- I'm so happy for him.
SHUKLA: The love for Yamal though seems to be growing and he will turn 17 the day before the final. That goal, as I said will likely go down as one of the great goals of this tournament. Spain, they were more than a sum of their parts. They have Yamal on one side and they have Nikko Williams on the other. But in the middle, in midfield is where the main heartbeat of that team comes from, and it comes through Rodri.
He was everywhere tonight, whether it was chasing down N'Golo Kante to win the ball back, if it was then. Once he did have the ball turning to play over and getting Spain going on the attack once again.
He is so crucial to any victory that Spain may have on Sunday.
As to who they will face, that we look to tomorrow for the game in Dortmund, Netherlands versus Holland, which does have a mouth-watering flavor to it too.
We will see who it will be in berlin on Sunday. We are one step closer. And tomorrow we will find out who will be their opponents.
Sebastian Shukla, CNN -- Munich.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, Argentina has earned a spot in the Copa America finals after a high-stakes match against Canada on Tuesday. It ends the fairytale season for Canada who performed better than expected in the tournament.
CNN's Maria Santana spoke with fans in New Jersey after the semifinals.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA SANTANA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Argentina is on its way to the Copa America finals and nobody could be happier than that than their fans.
They are going crazy here outside of the MetLife stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. They await the results of tomorrow's game between Colombia and Uruguay to see who will face Argentina in the final.
Tonight, they defeated Canada two-zero and these fans got to see something very small. Superstar goal -- Lionel Messi scored his first goal of the tournament.
Where are you from?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bangladesh.
SANTANA: Bangladesh, and you're Messi fan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Messi -- (INAUDIBLE).
SANTANA: And where are you from.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm from Pakistan.
SANTANA: Pakistan. How are they?
As you can see, just total euphoria out here. Of course, Canadian fans disappointed tonight, they tried to make his history by reaching the final in their first appearance in the Copa America. It didn't happen.
And well, 2-0 Argentina.
Sunday, finals in Miami. The team who wins this Wednesday between Colombia and Uruguay and the final in Miami, Sunday, July 14.
Maria Santana, CNN -- East Rutherford, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, archaeologists with the U.S. National Park Service have found five musket balls dating back to the first day of the American revolutionary war.
They're believed to be from the fighting in Concord, Massachusetts all the way back in April of 1775. The famed three-minute battle was later immortalized as "the shot heard round the world".
Colonial militia members fired the musket balls at British soldiers near the north bridge. They'll be on display at the Minute Man National Historical Park Saturday.
Still ahead, CNN heads to these 663rd Annual Oil Wrestling tournament in Turkey. The ancient tradition that stood the test of time.
[01:49:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Welcome back.
A Russian court has ordered the arrest of the wife of the late opposition leader, Alexei Navalny. A spokesperson for Yulia Navalnaya says she's been accused of participating in an extremist community.
CNN's Nic Robertson has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: what the Russian court system is saying is that if Yulia Navalnaya sets foot in Russia, she should be arrested. Now she hasn't been in the country since 2021.
It was a district court in Moscow that has tried her in absentia and has found her guilty of being in an extremist community, membership of an extremist community for which they say she should spend two months in jail.
It's not clear why this is happening now. It's almost five months since her husband, Alexei Navalny died in a Russian prison.
Yulia Navalny has always said that he was murdered by the Russian state. And she wants, according to her spokespeople at the moment she wants people to focus again on what she says is the murder of her husband and not what the court system is doing to her.
Now its hugely unlikely she is going to set foot in Russia. And the fact that the Russian court system is saying that she should be detained overseas is also exceptionally unlikely.
Why this is happening at the moment, isn't clear. Of course, part of the backdrop is the NATO summit in Washington. But why specifically Yulia Navalnaya should face this according to this particular court, it's a mystery.
Nic Robertson, CNN -- London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: San Diego's Wildlife Alliance says the zoo's new giant pandas are acclimatizing well in their states side home. The group shared first-look photos of the pair in their enclosure. They're the first giant pandas to enter the U.S. in 21 years.
They were sent from China as a sign of friendship between the two countries. Panda loans to the U.S. go back to 1972. The number of loans have decreased in recent years as U.S. China relations turned frosty.
Well, since the 14th century, men wearing tight leather trousers and dowsed (ph) in olive oil have competed in Turkey's ancient sport of oil wrestling.
CNN's Scott McLean witnessed firsthand some of this year's slippery scuffles at the tournament's 663rd edition.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In Turkey's northwest corner, just a few miles from Greece, there's an ancient tradition that came long before the urban sprawl of Edirne and even before its 450-year-old mosque.
It opens with pomp and pageantry -- drums, horns, and local dignitaries marching through the city. And a nod of respect to gladiators past for centuries of tradition come to life in the present.
It's right here where boys become men
This is the 663rd Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling festival. In Turkey, it's the Super Bowl of this sport. More than a dozen fights happen simultaneously in an uncut grassy field.
Fighters grapple, push, and attack to try to pin or lift their opponent to end the match, all the while covered head to toe in olive oil.
What makes this whole thing special is this, this is pure olive oil and these days it is not cheap. Five liters of this right now costs more than $60. And these guys are applying it pretty liberally.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course, olive oil is a must for this sport. But we don't see it as a cost, but as an investment in keeping our ancestral sport alive forever.
MCLEAN: Outside the stadium, Genghis Khan Koja (ph) is quietly preparing for battle.
GENGHIS KHAN KOJA, OIL WRESTLER (through translator): My father is an oil wrestler, so is my uncle, my brothers and my friends. We've been doing it since we were kids.
MCLEAN: In the tent next door, his opponent, Abdullah Bashar (ph), also has olive oil in his blood.
[01:54:50]
ABDULLAH BASHAR, OIL WRESTLER (through translator): Why do I do this sport? Because I'm after my father, my grandfather, and my ancestors.
MCLEAN: After a little oil helps them wriggle into their special leather pants, they're ready.
KOJA: We got here through hard work. We shed blood, sweat, and fought hard for months to prepare for this.
BASHAR: My strategy is to quickly go for the legs and go for the takedown. This has been my strongest move since I was a kid.
MCLEAN: The match begins with a ritual entrance and a quick prayer. The oil makes it almost impossible to grip your opponent.
Hand down his pants is one way to get a handle and entirely within the rules. For more than half an hour, they spar wearing each other down trying to outlast, though with one final heave, it all comes to an emotional end.
BASHAR: My friend was upset. I tried to make him feel better. But this is wrestling. I told him I've won today, but you'll win tomorrow.
MCLEAN: After the match, we find Genghis Khan exhausted and beside himself.
KOJA: I was emotional because I had high hopes. I wanted to make my family proud because so much effort and expense has been put into this. And I failed on day one.
MCLEAN: Genghis Khan's tournament may be over. But the ancient sport will live on to fight another century or six.
Scott McLean, CNN -- Edirne, Turkey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well now, let's take a look at the new "Gladiator" sequel as the first trailer for the movie arrives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's about survival. Survive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All together, we want to charge straight for the wall.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, the action-packed trailer teases arena combat, big battles and a fight with rhinos. The sequel to the 2000 blockbuster stars Paul Mescal who takes over for Russell Crowe.
It's also headlined by Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington. Gladiator 2 is set to release globally at the end of November.
Well, thanks so much for watching this edition of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
The news continues with the wonderful Rosemary Church after a very short break.
Stay with us.
[01:57:17]
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